Decision

At some point, Alex looked at the clock

'Oh my god it's already 11:30 AM, And I still didn't make any progress'

His thoughts just keep drifting and he couldn't focus,

He looked at the letter again, And he felt his eyes burn

'I cried a lot, And it seems that I forgot to blink for a really long time as well... I have no time for this'

He quickly opened the door, went to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror

His eyes were bloodshot and my face was a mess,

He opened the water and washed his face

'Mom ...'

His mother's beautiful face flashed in front of his eyes

'Dad ...'

Then his father's, Then Oliver's

'What I decide now will be a turning point in my family's life'

'Is someone like me really worthy of taking such a decision?'

'Am I ready to shoulder such a burden?'

'But if I don't who will?'

'No one will come and decide for me ...'

Alex strengthened his resolve and began to remember what his father taught him

"Put family first"

"Don't let people harass you and get away with it"

"Never forgive someone who's done something irrecoverable"

After Alex said these things loudly, He cried again

But this time he didn't cry because his situation was hard or because he didn't know what to decide

Instead, He wept because the family's fate was sealed

'I know Dad, If he thinks that what he wants to do is right then he wouldn't be able to live without doing it'

'He has already sacrificed so much for us ... I can't put my needs above his again'

'I'm sorry Oliver ... But I'll make up for it'

Alex made his decision

He went to the kitchen and on the stove because he didn't have a lighter.

He took the letter in his hand,

The faces of his family flashed in front of his eyes again

When Oliver's face flashed in front of him, More tears rolled down his cheeks

'I'm sorry for taking away your father Oliver ...'

'How will I manage this important phase of your life?'

'I need to be stronger'

A scary idea suddenly came to Leus' mind

'I will basically indirectly murder a man ...'

'It's okay, I'll handle it, I have to'

'Dad always said that no one will land from the sky to shoulder my burdens'

'Like always, He's right'

'I just have to strengthen my resolve more'

'I'll handle it'

'I'll do it'

While repeating that in his head, He burnt the letter,

'My chest feels hollow ... As if there's a gaping hole in my heart ...'

Alex cried until he was no longer able to shed tears

He cried until he felt numb

He cried until he could no longer cry

By the end of the day, Officers came knocking on the door

Alex acted surprised and denied that he or his brother knew anything about the incident

After searching the house, The cops took both of them to the station for an investigation

Eventually, They were let go after some questions

At first, Oliver didn't believe that his father could do that

But Alex was beside him to calm him down and help him get through it

The first few weeks were difficult, The house felt dead and spiritless,

But Alex did his best to cheer up his brother

After a couple of months, Blake got a life sentence

There was nothing surprising about it, It was a murder in broad daylight,

He had nothing to back his claims so he didn't bother to say it,

And even if he did, it wouldn't make much of a difference

Regardless of all that, Alex was ready to take responsibility for the family

'These are the consequences,

And if I wasn't ready for it I wouldn't have made that decision,

But I did, Therefore, I'm more than ready'

It took around 2 years for Oliver to recover from his shock

Eventually, With Alex's constant help and support, His mental health returned to normal, And he was able to continue his studies in a normal way.

'Oliver is 17 now, And we visit Dad at least once a month'

'His health is okay for now and I think he got used to prison life'

'Our constant visits help him get through'

'As long as he's happy he lived by his rules, Everything should be okay'

A bit before Oliver's 18th birthday,

Alex visited Blake alone to ask him about what they should tell Oliver

They both agreed on hiding the fact that Alex participated,

And decided to just tell him that Blake told Alex privately after he went to prison, not before that

There was no specific reason from Alex's side, Blake just thought it'd be better if Oliver didn't feel like they both took a decision that heavily impacted his life without his consent

He was afraid that Oliver might resent Alex, And Alex reluctantly agreed after Blake insisted on it,

'Dad doesn't like to lie, But he wants to take this responsibility alone, So I'll let him have it'

Life continued as normal, And a few weeks later Oliver had the conversation with Blake

After Oliver knew the truth, His mental health drastically improved

He told Alex that when his father committed that crime his entire world shattered

The man he thought was the perfect idol had murdered a respected doctor for no reason!

It was devastating, His world crashed and he decided to never trust anyone ever again

'If even my father is a liar, What will I expect from other people?'

He never showed it to Alex on the outside because he could see how much effort Alex was making for the two of them to live a normal life, He didn't want to disappoint him

But on the inside, He believed that everyone is a hypocrite.

That was until he knew the truth

Oliver told Alex that now he understood everything and that he was sure that his father had made the correct decision

When Alex heard that he felt happy

'I didn't make the wrong decision!'

He felt as if a huge weight was lifted from his heart

'Finally, I can stop feeling guilty about deciding for Oliver'